Mobile Commerce To Quadruple To $31 Billion In Next 5 Years (Forrester via Mashable)Mobile commerce (mcommerce) has had a transformative and highly publicized impact on some businesses, including Amazon, eBay and flash sales sites like Gilt. But for the vast majority of retail companies, mobile represents only a negligible fraction of total sales, and it's likely to stay that way for the next five years, according to data from Forrester.

Forrester Research

Sales of physical retail goods and services made on smartphones were $8 billion in the U.S. last year, accounting for 3 percent of online sales and less than 1 percent of total retail sales. For most U.S. retailers, mobile represents only 1.5 percent of online sales. Over the next five years, total mobile sales are expected to grow 33 percent annually to $31 billion, making up 9 percent of online sales in 2017.

Mobile Payments Market Predicted To Reach $90 Billion By 2017 (Forrester via TechCrunch)Forrester is anticipating that the U.S. mobile payment market will see $90 billion spent in 2017, an incredible 48 percent compounded annual growth rate over the $12.8 billion that was spent in 2012. Forrester sees growth in mobile payments driven by proximity payments, which, while currently the smallest subcategory of mobile payments, should become the fastest growing. Those will account for $41 billion of payments made via mobile by 2017. Proximity payments include those made via NFC, and require only that you move your mobile device near a receiver terminal to conduct a transaction, as with MasterCard’s PayPass.

7 Ways Mobile Apps Are Driving Revenue For Businesses (Mashable)From leveraging specific features like GPS all the way down to the mere fact that people are walking around with Internet-connected computers in their pockets, smartphones open a whole new world of opportunities for marketers at businesses large and small. The following are some key ways businesses are getting an extra boost via mobile apps:

Facebook Launches Free Calling For iPhones (Forbes)Could this be the Facebook phone? After testing a free voice calling feature for its Messenger app in Canada recently, Facebook has quietly made the feature available in the U.S. as well– to iPhone users, anyway. Now iPhone users can make free calls using a WiFi connection, with no carrier data charges, or using their data plan. It’s hardly the first free voice calling app. But for Facebook, it offers several benefits:

People will end up using Facebook more

It's another mode of communication

It may be especially appealing to young people, who often have limited voice or data plans

t’s a way for Facebook to make sure people turn to the company’s apps on their mobile devices rather than to rivals’ apps

Nobody needs an actual Facebook phone, because apps make every phone a Facebook phone. Free voice calling is just one way to make sure it remains that way. It is, however, another way in which it competes with Microsoft (Skype), one of its biggest investors.

Mobile Cannot Be A Cookie-Cutter Approach, Says Macy's (Mobile Commerce Daily)Macy’s chief marketing officer, Martine Reardon recently said that mobile needs to be customized and personalized, meaning that the medium intertwines into every part of a marketing strategy. "Between QR codes, what we’re doing on Facebook and Instagram that is feeding into our mobile app, what we do with Shopkick – everybody is different but that is why personalization becomes so important because there isn’t just one cookie-cutter approach to it," she said. "The more that you can understand the customer and what kind of segment she’s in, the better you will be at designing offers for her." Macy’s mobile strategy centers around solving problems for the customer. Therefore, the brand invests in three pillars of mobile: commerce, omnichannel and marketing.

Interpublic Signals Growing Mobile Advertising Interest With Kiip Investment (The Globe And Mail)The Interpublic Group of Companies announced a small investment that signals its growing interest in mobile advertising. The advertising giant has taken a minority stake in Kiip, a San Francisco-based start-up founded by Vancouver native Brian Wong. The company delivers ads by creating partnerships with mobile applications and games. Kiip offers a reward on behalf of one of its advertisers, such as a free song download courtesy of a car company, or a coupon for a free coffee. "It sends a massive signal to validate mobile in general," Mr. Wong said. "With the potential of mobile, there’s a lot of spending that has yet to be unlocked."

5 Lessons In Local Mobile Advertising From Big Brands (Entrepreneur)Although local advertising may seem synonymous with small business, the majority of the money that's spent on local advertising comes from national brands. So what can small business owners learn from the big guys? Here are the five takeaways for your business, no matter the size: